Chapter 58
Chapter 58
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Hell Path (1)
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Celia and the Goblin Lord were passing through the interior of the dungeon.
Behind them trailed Skeleton Knights and goblins.
The place they were traversing was the dungeon managed by Azmo.
They should originally have been on the Eldorado Continent, but they had crossed over to a dungeon on Earth without any restrictions.
That was all thanks to the Dimensional Gate.
Dimensional Gate.
It was the link connecting the dungeon "Nest of the Evil God" on the Eldorado Continent to the dungeon "Temptation's Illusion" on Earth.
"All of this is thanks to the blessings of the Great One."
Celia praised in an excited voice.
The powers displayed by the Great One always astonished her.
"We've received such generous grace from the Master all this time. Now it's our turn to repay it."
The Goblin Lord nodded at Celia's words.
It was true.
If not for Him, they wouldn't even exist here.
"Before carrying out the Master's command, He left us with a plea."
The Master had commanded.
To minimize damage.
That meant carrying out the orders without suffering any losses themselves.
In short, come back safe and unscathed.
"Oh my! As expected, the only one who thinks of us is the Master!"
Joy overflowed from Celia's expression.
For the Master, she would gladly offer this body of hers.
"This Celia will surely accomplish it just as the Master asked!"
Celia cradled her face in her hands, enraptured.
"Goblin Lord, you must remember this too. Never do anything that tarnishes the Master's honor."
"Got it, keh."
The Goblin Lord nodded in response to Celia's urging.
He agreed with her words.
Falling in battle would be no different from staining the Master's honor.
Minimize damage.
This command was tantamount to giving it their all.
As the Goblin Lord steeled his resolve, Celia looked around.
"That said, leaving the dungeon completely empty like this..."
Azmo's dungeon was so eerily vacant that even Celia's joyful expression hardened.
There was one human boy bound head to toe, but that wasn't the issue.
They hadn't left even the minimal forces to guard the dungeon—everyone had left.
"Sigh. What on earth are Death Knight and Arch Lich doing...?"
Celia let out a sigh.
Of course, she could guess that Azmo had done this for the Master.
His intentions were commendable, at least.
But.
"For now, I need to give Arch Lich a scolding."
The Master had appointed Arch Lich as overseer.
An overseer meant to objectively assess the situation had done nothing to intervene.
And this was a lich who had evolved into an Arch Lich after receiving the Master's power.
Handling things this way left Celia with nothing but sighs.
"For now, have the Skeleton Knights guard this place."
Celia beckoned to the Skeleton Knights.
They were originally like bodyguards assigned to protect her workspace.
Of course, the notion of 3-star Skeleton Knights guarding a 6-star like Celia was absurd, but it was all by the Master's will.
It showed just how much He thought of her.
"Dungeon defense is settled for now."
At Celia's command, the Skeleton Knights took up positions throughout the dungeon.
"Remember this. This is the dungeon owned by the Master. Show no mercy to intruders."
All nodded at her words.
Satisfied with the sight, Celia turned to the Goblin Lord.
"I'll head straight to where Death Knight is. Goblin Lord, you secure the perimeter of the dungeon."
The Master's command was to bring back Death Knight, Arch Lich, Azmo, and Beta unharmed.
Celia's plan was simple.
Extract just them before the humans became more troublesome.
To block any variables, the Skeleton Knights would guard the dungeon, while the Goblin Lord and his subordinates held the surrounding area.
Celia gave them one last look before vanishing.
Now she was off to fulfill the Master's command.
After Celia departed.
The Skeleton Knights stood motionless in the dungeon, swords drawn.
If intruders appeared, they would move.
And make them regret ever entering the Master's dungeon.
The Goblin Lord also headed out to carry out his orders.
Armed goblins followed him in disciplined formation.
"Go!"
At the Goblin Lord's command, the goblins advanced forward.
"Well now, are you finally ready to try negotiating?"
Azmo shouted loudly from the front of the monster horde.
Unlike the triumphant Azmo, the Emergency Response Team hunters were in despair.
"M-monsters..."
When they heard about the monster wave, they thought they'd suppress it quickly.
But facing them head-on made them realize how arrogant that notion had been.
"Everyone, get it together!"
Team Leader Han Jeong-cheol shouted at his subordinates.
The mood is bad...
All their attacks so far had been blocked.
The team's morale had plummeted to rock bottom.
And perhaps because the Emergency Response Team was ineffective.
Even those watching from the rear until moments ago had all vanished.
They knew it too.
This monster wave was different from any before.
Despite the Emergency Response Team's barrage, they hadn't inflicted even a scratch.
No one would stick around trusting them in this situation.
Not even the reporters.
By now, articles criticizing the Emergency Response Team were probably flooding in.
"Haa."
Team Leader Han Jeong-cheol sighed deeply.
Lee Mi-rae's initial holy attack had been their trump card, buffed and prepared with everything they had.
It was as good as pouring in all their strength.
He thought it would end things, but it was futilely blocked.
Moreover, it was blocked with just one shield.
Look at them now.
It's the large shield held by Death Knight.
And the maid outfit fluttering in front of it felt like it was mocking them mockingly.
"...Team Leader, what do we do now?"
Lee Mi-rae said with difficulty.
Even after continued attacks, the monsters hadn't taken a single scratch.
Instead, her reckless assaults had completely drained her power.
"Mi-rae, fall back to the rear and recover your strength for now."
"I can still fight!"
Mi-rae insisted she could continue, but Han Jeong-cheol refused.
She had already fulfilled her role sufficiently.
They now knew holy power attacks didn't work on these monsters at all.
Nor were ranged attacks effective.
Basic arrows barely damaged ghouls.
Unless aiming for the head or infusing holy power.
But whenever they tried infusing arrows with holy power, the Death Knight somehow sensed it.
And blocked it again with that maid-outfit shield.
Guns were the same, rendering ranged attacks essentially useless.
A Death Knight that brings death... and a maid outfit...
A completely mismatched combination.
Which only made it all the more terrifying.
Where the hell did they get something like that?
She had never heard of a maid outfit with such features.
"No way."
What if there was something even stronger than them?
Chills ran down his spine.
But Han Jeong-cheol shook his head soon after.
Probably not.
The Death Knight alone was a threat.
With a lich on top of that, something stronger than them separately?
That would be a catastrophe for humanity.
So it was more comforting to assume these were their max forces.
As he pondered briefly.
"Leader!"
One of his subordinates called out—Emergency Response Team Vice Leader Kim Seung-su, the hunter.
"Why not just charge straight in? Dragging this out here isn't helping."
He was right.
Standing around wouldn't solve anything.
The best option now was to stall for reinforcements.
I hope support comes soon...
But blatantly stalling would tip off the monsters.
Then they might scatter anywhere.
In short, it'd become uncontrollable.
They had to exploit the monsters' interest in this spot for as long as possible.
Attack, huh...
But a frontal assault was too risky.
Guerrilla tactics to tie them down seemed better.
Done right, they might even whittle down the enemy's forces.
But the lich made immediate approval hesitant.
"But there's a lich."
Liches used the Corpse Explosion skill.
"Pfft, you think the lich would just explode its own allies willy-nilly?"
Han Jeong-cheol nodded slightly at the vice leader's words.
"Fair point."
Corpse Explosion.
It was a lich's skill to detonate lower-rank undead than itself.
No matter how tricky the explosion skill, it required nearby undead to work.
Without undead around, the lich was harmless.
Futhermore, liches were intelligent monsters.
An intelligent lich certainly wouldn't recklessly explode ghouls.
Yeah.
If he seizes that opportunity, he could easily engage in combat.
He had been too timid in his actions, overwhelmed by the opponent's momentum from the beginning.
Han Jeong-cheol agonized briefly before approving.
"Alright! Listen up, everyone!"
Han Jeong-cheol shouted.
"Over there are the Death Knight and lich. Don't engage them! Same for ghouls! Scatter and target the incubi mainly!"
Incubi weren't undead.
Unlike ghouls the lich could explode, Incubus cannot be handled in the same way.
Catch the openings right, and taking them out would be simple.
Han Jeong-cheol resolved to slowly chip away at their forces.
Of course, not everyone would charge in.
Ranged specialists would cover from the rear for better effect.
"Alright! Let's advance!"
No sooner had the team leader's order dropped than Vice Leader Kim Seung-su shouted, boosting morale.
Then he charged straight ahead.
Han Jeong-cheol didn't stop him, watching the vice leader go.
That guy's speed is his specialty.
With his agile movements, he'd toy with them long before getting caught.
"Let's go too!"
"Wipe out those damn things!"
Seeing the vice leader reach the monster horde, the rest ramped up their momentum.
They'd been suppressed by the unexpected ferocity, but all were elite fighters.
As Han Jeong-cheol watched, about to join the attack himself.
Boom-
Boom-
Boom-
"Huh?"
Ghouls exploded from the front.
Not one, but three ghouls simultaneously.
"Damn it!"
The problem was that they couldn't see the Vice leader who had been running forward.
No matter how much they looked around, they couldn't find him.
Perhaps they hadn't realized that the ghouls would explode and had left the scene.
But that hope crumbled soon.
At the site of the ghoul explosions.
Nearby bone fragments began to stir.
The bones assembled piece by piece, forming a shape.
"Skeleton...?"
The bones gathered into a skeleton.
The skeleton moved, donning the scattered gear nearby.
Everyone fell silent at the sight.
"......"
No one could make a sound.
Because the fully equipped skeleton resembled someone familiar.
"Vice Leader..."
"Kuh!"
Chaos erupted among them.
It was a skeleton wearing the vice leader's exact gear.
And there hadn't been any skeletons in that monster group.
That meant one thing.
"...Arch Lich."
Han Jeong-cheol muttered.
The worst scenario he'd imagined had come true.
A being different from a mere explosion skill-using lich.
A being that resurrects corpses as skeletons, an Arc Lich.
"Report to headquarters immediately! It's not just two A-rank monsters!"
Now he understood.
When the enemy first proposed negotiations, it wasn't because they were weak.
It was literally a negotiation.
In a way, it might have been mercy.
At the same time.
Yi Kang-hyun was riding in a taxi with Maru .
Maru wore a robe and mask, covering her entire body.
Despite the odd appearance, the taxi driver paid it no mind.
In this era where summons were commonplace, it was par for the course.
Yi Kang-hyun kept his smartphone in hand even while moving.
Skeleton Knights had just entered the dungeon managed by Azmo.
No sign of Celia, so she must have already left.
Of course, Yi Kang-hyun wasn't just going to watch idly.
Everything must happen under my control.
Otherwise, it wasn't true power.
In the end, he would have to wrap this up himself.